Fire
by DoneAndDusted
Summary: Second in my Elementals series, wherein the residents at the X-Mansion meet a ‘family’ of very unusual mutants. Kitty Pryde finally gets her prince, only to find that fairy tales are better as fantasies. The arrival of a new mutant rekindles her dreams.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Fire

Series: Elementals Quartet

Rating: M

'Verse: AU, two years after the first movie.

Disclaimer: Sadly, only Gaia and Vulcanus are mine.

Summary: The second in my Elementals series, wherein the residents at the X-Mansion meet a 'family' of very unusual mutants. Kitty Pryde finally gets her prince, only to find that fairy tales are better as fantasies. The arrival of a new mutant rekindles her dreams.

**Chapter 1**

He prowled through the trees, nose lifted to the wind, ears straining against the silence, his feet noiseless against the soft earth. Ahead, a squirrel saw him coming and skittered up its tree, its bushy tail flicking wildly in warning to its fellows. The sight made him smile slightly, his eyes gleaming as an idea began to form in his mind.

With the natural grace of a predator, he swung up onto a branch and began to move towards the center of the forest, jumping lightly from tree to tree, moving through the boughs as easily as a jungle cat. The comparison was a fitting one, he mused. He was, after all, on the hunt.

He came to the tree he sought, a large, sturdy pine that sat near the center of the little wood. Its strong scent made his nose wrinkle, but he settled down amongst the needles, knowing their thick veil hid him from view, for the most part. His ears twitched slightly, hearing the light sound of a footstep. At last!

His muscles tensed in readiness, but as always he had to pause and catch his breath when she entered the clearing. She was tall, almost unnaturally so, and slender, with thick waves of bark-brown hair spilling over her bare, creamy-white shoulders. He inhaled deeply, forcing back the crushing pressure around his chest inspired by the sight of her, and her delicious, lightly floral scent, as familiar and as dear to him as his own, flooded his senses. She wore no clothes, her feminine charms a banquet for his eyes, which greedily clung to every flawless curve. He almost sighed in besotted adoration before remembering that he was supposed to be hiding.

Creeping along a sturdy branch, he inched closer and closer, preparing to spring forth and drive her to the ground when the wood beneath him creaked and bent, lashing from side to side like the tail of an angry cat. He just had time for one startled yelp before he was unceremoniously dumped on the soft, moist ground. He grunted in irritation, rising to his feet as the sound of musical laughter rang in his ears.

"These trees keep no secrets from me, my love."

Gaia watched, amused, as her fiancé hauled himself up from the ground, a disgruntled expression making his adorable nose crinkle and his gorgeous golden eyes glitter like those of a sulky child. Deliberately adding a little extra sway to her hips, she prowled a circle around him, noticing as she did that his custom-made slacks did very little to hide his reaction to her nudity.

Drawing close, she rested a soothing, teasing hand on his chest. "I'm sure you'll win eventually, dearheart." She crooned in an effort towards placation.

Hank turned his eyes towards his wife-to-be, tearing them away from the mesmerising, arousing sight of her long, elegant fingers winding in his fur. As his gaze collided with hers, the intensity she found there made her mouth go dry and a warm throbbing start up low in her stomach.

"Demi?" He murmured in the deep, husky growl she had humorously dubbed his 'sex voice'.

Feeling her knees turn to jelly, she smiled alluringly. "Yes, Hank?"

The answering smile that flashed across his face was feral in a way that, before her dramatic entrance into his life, would have been a source of shame and disgust to him. Now, he generally accepted the animal part of him with a weary sense of the inevitable. Sometimes, however, he revelled in it. "Run."

It took her less than a second to see the primal flare in those beloved eyes, and she turned and fled, feeling a surge of desire that made him groan when the rich smell of it drifted tantalisingly to his sensitive nose, sealing her fate.

She didn't even make it to the edge of the clearing.

With a growl of delight, he bounded forward, catching one long arm in a firm but painless hold. It took him almost no effort to tug her back into his waiting arms, which folded around her in a welcoming clasp. She smiled up into his suddenly tender expression before his lips came down on hers, banishing all rational thought, leaving only his heat against her skin, his taste in her mouth, his knowing hands sliding over her body.

At last he lifted his head, eyes blazing as they panted for breath. She rested her head against his shoulder, revelling in the security of his embrace, and his deep purrs of contentment vibrated against her sensitised skin deliciously. After a long moment just luxuriating in his arms, she turned her face up to his.

"Hank?"

The sound of her soft, caressing voice made his eyes, which had drifted shut in pleasure, slide open, and he looked down into her familiar, beautiful face, sure that he was glowing with love for her. "Yes, my dearest, dearest love?"

"Make me yours."

Smiling tenderly, he swept her feet from beneath her, depositing her gently on the ground. "You were always mine, Demi. From the moment I first set eyes on you, you belonged to me."

She gave the rich gurgle of laughter that he had always found so appealing, eyes gleaming with mischief even as she extended her arms towards him in welcome. "Are you sure that _you_ are not _mine_?"

Catching the betraying twitch at the corner of her full mouth, he gave a mock snarl in answer, baring his teeth at her as his lips curled back. Descending on her, he crushed her mouth beneath his, supporting himself on one powerful arm to prevent his weight from squashing her flat, while the other hand skated over the side of her breast, skimming its tempting curve lightly. His keen ears twitched, detecting the slight catch in her breath at his teasing touch, and he smiled against her mouth.

When he finally broke away and stared down at her, she was breathing heavily and her beautiful eyes, their pale green unbroken by any other colour but the silver lines tracing over their delicate surfaces, were glazed with passion. The scent of her desire drifted to his nose, curling enticingly in his nostrils, and as his groin tightened painfully, he groaned aloud.

Her chuckle was husky. "I'm not in a much better state, my love." Her remarkable eyes shining with her love, she smiled a knowing, seductive smile. "You are a very handsome man, Doctor Henry McCoy."

The first few times they had made love when she had repeated that statement to him, he had blushed and looked away; his animal features and blue fur were a source of shame and frustration to him, and he had spent many hours researching possible means of getting rid of them. But now, looking at the tenderness mixed with the desire in her face, he _believed_ that she saw him as a man, an attractive man, and he would thank the god who had given her to him every day for that blessing, whether He had intended it or not, whoever He was.

He was about to lower his mouth to hers once again, his hand sliding with gentle possessiveness over the bare curves of her body, when a strange pressure began to pulse against his eardrums. He frowned and shook his head, trying to dispel the irritating feeling, but instead it grew stronger. He pressed his palm to the base of his ear, rubbing at the muscles there in an attempt to soothe away the sensation.

"Hank? What's wrong?"

Demi propped herself up on one elbow beneath him, instinctively pressing herself closer to his broad chest. Her fiancé's golden eyes narrowed as his ears began to twitch restlessly.

"Hank?" She repeated, frowning now. Her husband-to-be was usually a very level-headed, unflappable man; his obvious agitation was disturbing.

The animal part of Hank was beginning to stir, the urge to protect its mate rising fast within him at this prospective danger. The pressure was growing steadily, and now it was accompanied by a dull, muted roar that reminded him of the sound of an oxyacetylene torch at work.

He rose abruptly, pulling Demi to her feet and pressing her protectively against his chest with one arm, shielding her nakedness from the world. She rested her head in the hollow between his neck and shoulder, relaxed and trusting in his arms and his ability to keep her safe. The thought made his lips quirk wryly; in the middle of a forest, his beloved was hardly without defences of her own.

The roaring grew louder and louder in his ears, and he felt Demi flinch suddenly, stiffening in his embrace. Lowering his head, he looked at her with eyes dark with concern. "What is it, my love?"

Her usually pale skin was almost white, her green eyes huge in her strained face. "The Earth… the plants… they're _screaming._"

She moaned quietly, pressing her ear against his chest as though to block out the wail in her mind. Hank's own ears were ringing with the strange sound now, and his nose twitched as the acrid, bitter scent of ozone suddenly fell over them like a cloud. With it came comprehension, and he threw himself to the ground, pulling Demi with him and covering her with his body as a bright flash lit up the forest.

A moment later there was an echoing boom, and the earth shook beneath them. As the thunderous din faded, Hank cautiously raised his head, eyes seeking his fiancée's face. "Demi? Are you hurt?"

She grunted, rolling over and peering up at him through a cloud of disarrayed brown hair. She looked so adorably disgruntled that he chuckled, flicking back the wayward locks with a gentle finger. Rising easily to his feet, shaking the leaves from his fur, he scooped her into his arms and sighed.

"As much as I wish it didn't, it appears that our er… activities must be curtailed for the nonce, my love." Despite his best efforts, Hank felt a blush suffuse his face and fervently hoped that the fur hid it.

Demi, seeing the redness, giggled and slid down his body to the floor, making his breath hitch. Throwing him a coy glance, she darted across the clearing and pushed a hand into the trunk of the fir tree he'd been sitting in. As always, seeing the evidence of her power made Hank's inner scientist perk up, and he watched with interest as she withdrew her hand, clutching one of the filmy green dresses she often wore.

As soon as she was dressed, the humour cleared from her face and she knelt, frowning. Hank crouched beside her, his sensitive ears straining; although his senses were far more powerful than those of a normal man, he could hear nothing. Demi, however, sunk a hand into the earth, closing her eyes in concentration as she reached out with her power, feeling it sweep over Hank, a warm mass of energy in her mind's eye, and extend through the forest.

For a few moments there was nothing, and then something tingled at the edge of her awareness. She reached out cautiously, her consciousness spreading over the area until a searing burst of heat made her jerk back sharply, her power returning to her like a whip recoiling.

Demi stiffened, her eyes snapping open as she drew in a harsh, gasping breath. Hank instinctively tensed, looking around for the source of her pain so he could make it go away. The slender hand that rested on his forearm, however, made him turn back to her, to see her face suffused with wonder and dawning recognition.

"Hank," she breathed, "It's _fire_."

"Where?" He asked curtly, worried now. If there was a fire in the forest it could spread to the mansion…

"Not that kind of fire. My kind." Seeing his confusion, she smiled slowly, her eyes glowing with awe. "Hank, it's… a brother."

His golden eyes widened on his comprehension. "You mean-"

"It's another Elemental." And she laughed, the ripple of silvery sound easing the last of the tension in his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Aidan groaned, trying to lift his eyelids despite their leaden mass. After several attempts he began to feel the merits of giving up, so he took stock of where he was. He was lying on the ground, he knew. The rich scent of loam made his nostrils flare, and the feel of its coolness against the bare skin of his back made him wriggle, sighing in relief. Quite content to lay where he was, he let his mind relax, drifting out into the space around him.

The sudden sense of otherness took him by surprise. His gift encountered something that felt like a huge, pulsing column of life, glowing green in his mind's eye. His physical eyes snapped open as he bolted upright, muscles tensing as he began to hear the sounds of approaching footsteps. However, when the couple entered the clearing he had created with his rather unfortunate landing, his eyes widened involuntarily.

One of them was clearly a mutant, even at a mere glance. He was abnormally tall, with long, luxuriant blue fur that covered the whole of his body and strangely feline features. Conversely, however, it was the woman who captured and held his attention. She, too, was taller than the average human, clad in a wispy green dress, her long, nut-brown hair curling over her slender shoulders. Her eyes, their pale green surface unmarred by any other pigment, locked with his and she smiled.

A strange sense of connection filled the air around them, making him catch his breath as his heart leapt. The low, rumbling growl from the man at her side as he moved between them cut off the strangely pleasant feeling, leaving Aiden with a sense of loss he'd never before experienced. She spoke softly to her companion, resting an appeasing hand on his massive forearm, before approaching him.

When she stood a mere few feet distant, she stopped and smiled into his eyes. "Brother."

Demi watched as the wariness in his eyes flickered and, as understanding lit his features, died. He returned her smile with a strangely impish grin, his teeth flashing white against his red-brown skin.

"Sister." He replied solemnly. His voice was pleasant, a warm, slightly gruff tenor that curled around her and soaked into her bones like the heat from a fire.

She felt him eying her, assessing her with his gift as well as with his senses, and she took the chance to do the same. Visually, he was as human-looking as she herself. He was shorter than her, standing at about six foot, and built heavily; for a moment, the broad shoulders and muscled frame reminded her of Logan. There, however, the similarity ended. The mutant standing before her had a thick, close-cropped head of rich auburn hair, the reddish tint gleaming in the afternoon sun. His skin was a deep red-brown, giving him a ruddy, warm complexion that contrasted strikingly with his eyes. Like her own, he had no iris and no pupil; the surfaces of his eyes were a single shade of pale grey, slender veins of copper tracing across the cool silver background. He had heavy features, a strong nose sweeping up to broad cheekbones and perched above a thick-lipped, smiling mouth. All in all, he was a powerfully masculine figure, not conventionally handsome but inexplicably charismatic.

Reaching out with her mind, she let her power flow towards him. To her mind, his power crackled around him as though he were a living flame, tendrils flickering and curling outwards from the central core of his body. The bright, blazing warmth of it made her smile as her initial impression of safety cemented in her mind. Withdrawing her power, she saw that he was smiling at her, a cheeky, little-boy smile that made her chuckle as she turned back to Hank, snuggling under his arm as it wrapped possessively around her shoulders. Looking up into his questioning face, she nestled against the soft fur on his chest.

"Brother, this is Doctor Henry McCoy, my fiancé, alias Beast." She smiled up into Hank's eyes, which softened as he pulled her tighter against his side.

Aidan, watching the exchange, fought the urge to grin teasingly. The couple were so obviously in love that he could almost feel the warmth emanating from them. After a moment, he coughed discreetly and offered his hand towards the doctor. Hank gripped it and smiled, bearing a sharp set of fangs that made the elemental blink.

"Vulcanus, at your service." He returned the blue mutant's firm handshake, but as soon as he let go, Hank's hand managed to find its way back to rest against Demi's hip, rubbing gently through the material of her dress. She swatted his hand away, her eyes gleaming with desire and humour as she silently vowed to have revenge. Turning away, she beckoned to the men, linking one of her arms through each of theirs and leading them back towards the mansion.

As they walked, Hank called out to the Professor. 'Charles?'

After a moment, he felt the familiar, barely-there brush of the telepath's mind against his own. 'Good afternoon, Henry.' For some reason, there was a hint of amusement in Charles' mental voice. And had he imagined it, or had there been a slight stress on the first word there? As the reason occurred to him, he blushed fiercely. 'Quite.' Murmured that all-knowing voice. 'I understand that there is a matter of some importance you would like to draw my attention to?'

'Yes, Professor. Whilst Demi and I were… er…' The blush mantling his cheeks darkened.

'Frolicking?' Suggested that dry voice, making Hank squeeze his eyes shut in embarrassment.

'Er, yes, quite. Whilst Demi and I were… frolicking in the forest, we encountered another mutant, who we believe to be another Elemental. His name is Vulcanus.'

'Yes,' the Professor replied serenely, 'I know.'

Hank's eyes widened. 'Then why did…' As he registered the faint, strangely echoing chuckle inside his mind, the genius shook his head, feeling the heat of his blush suffuse the very tips of his ears.

By the time Gaia had and her two escorts had arrived at the entrance to the main building, a small crowd had gathered outside to greet them. Demi felt the sudden tension in Vulcanus' muscles, saw the way his eyes narrowed fractionally, and stopped before the curious eyes of the on-lookers. With her usual poise, she smiled gently at their fellow mutants, her gaze coming to rest on the Professor, who rolled forward to meet them.

"Good afternoon, Vulcanus. My name is Professor Xavier. I run the school here which, as far as I know, hasn't given its students a day off to stare at newcomers."

This mildly stated reproof sent a dozen or so of the watchers scurrying back inside, leaving Xavier backed by only the main core of the X-men and a few of the older students. Gaia eyed the young adults with an eloquently raised eyebrow, and under her cool curiosity most of them shifted uneasily.

The Professor, ignoring the byplay between the tall mutant and the students, smiled genially at Vulcanus, looking like nothing so much as a benevolent grandfather. "These are my staff and," he paused, shooting an amused look at the uncomfortable pupils, "My final grade physics class."

Understanding, Gaia stepped forward with a smile that made the physicists sigh with relief; her calm scrutiny was unnerving. Pointing out each member of the team, she performed the introductions, much as Hank had done for her several months before. "You know the Professor now, and this is Ororo Munroe, Scott Summers…"

Vulcanus smiled at Storm, his silver eyes twinkling despite his serious expression. "Cousin."

As she finished her spiel, Demi felt the tension suddenly return to his body, his muscles turned rigid and unyielding as he drew in his breath in a barely-audible hiss. Frowning, she cast a glance at Hank, who had also heard the sharp intake of air, then at Logan, who quirked an eyebrow at her in indifference. Her 'brother' turned to her, something so intense in his eyes that, had she not instantly recognised it for what it was, it would have sent her fleeing. As it was, her eyes widened in disbelief, but when her eyes flicked to the looming presence of her fiancé, Aidan saw the same vastness of emotion in her gaze.

Holding her eyes with his, he said deliberately, "I don't think I've been introduced to everyone here, sister."

He turned back to the group, ignoring the barely-masked sense of shock emanating from Xavier, and his eyes landed unfailingly on the still, quiet figure of the young woman who had, up until then, been standing partially hidden behind the surly figure of Scott Summers. Ignoring the territorial glare from behind the red visor, he strode towards her and lifted one of her hands, pressing a caressing kiss to the pale, smooth skin there, his eyes never leaving her startled brown ones.

"My sister failed to introduce us, but my name is Vulcanus." His voice lowered, becoming intimate and audible only to the pair of them. "You can call me Aidan."

Releasing her wrist, he straightened and looked down at her, though their eyes were almost on the same level. Feeling a wash of heat suffuse her cheeks, resulting in a pretty blush, the young woman spoke in little more than a whisper. "Kitty. My name's Kitty Pryde."

The smile that pulled his full lips up at the corners made her catch her breath, even as Scott snatched up her hand in his. "Well, Kitty Pryde, it's a pleasure to meet you. Yes," he continued softly, "A real pleasure."

"Come on, Kit." Scott snapped angrily. Without waiting for a reply, he yanked at her wrist and stormed back into the mansion, making her wince as she hurried after him, stumbling for the first few steps before finding her balance.

Aidan felt a surge of hot anger rising in him as he gazed after them. He barely registered the low hum of the Professor's voice gently urging the cluster of people back inside. Hank waited with a warm smile and soft eyes as Gaia paused beside the new mutant, resting a gentle hand on his arm. Her pale eyes searched his for a moment before she moved away.

"Go carefully, then. She's still only young, and they do not always understand that our emotions are perhaps a little less… constrained than theirs."

Smiling her blessing, she giggled as her fiancé wound a possessive arm around her waist, gently but inexorably guiding her back towards the mansion. The soft buzz from beside him made him start and look down. Charles Xavier's coolly assessing gaze met his. After a long moment when the piercing eyes of the seated mutant searched for answers to the questions in his mind, the older man smiled.

"Please come inside, Aidan." It didn't occur to him to argue at this almost-stranger's use of his name; there was such an air of kind authority about the telepath that he accepted this piece of familiarity without question. "I shall have someone show you around the grounds, if you wish. Perhaps not Scott, though." There was the faintest hint of ironic amusement in the cultured voice.

"Perhaps not." Aidan agreed, his intent eyes turning back to the doors through which the couple had vanished. As soon as he had laid eyes on the girl, he had known she was his. It was as though all his previous attachments had been cosy, tame campfires, gently warming, and now a blazing inferno had roared to life within him, threatening to sear him alive with its thrilling intensity. He didn't think to question it; it was a fact, as surely as the roundness of the Earth or the burning of the sun. They _belonged_ together.

Remembering the tight, proprietary grip the chestnut-haired man had taken around her slender wrist, he felt his own fists tighten, his knuckles creaking ominously. He saw her smooth, pale skin crease in the wince she hadn't been able to hide, the way her cupid's-bow lips had tightened briefly, the surprised widening of her melted-chocolate eyes, and his gift stirred within him, itching to ignite at the force of his rage.

"No," he murmured again, "Perhaps not."

**A/N: **Did anyone guess who the couple in this fic is going to consist of yet? (Yes, that was said tongue-in-cheek!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kitty tried to dig in her heels, tugging at Scott's wrist with her free hand. "Scott, slow down!"

He abruptly halted, leaving her to crash into his lean, hard frame with the force of her momentum behind her, crushing her button nose flat and bringing stinging tears to her eyes. Pulling her wrist free, she rubbed at the red marks already flaring around the delicate bones, looking up at her lover with bewildered eyes.

"What's the matter? I don't understand what I've done." The slight quaver in her voice was impossible to hide.

"Don't you? I should have known a silly little girl like you wouldn't understand." There was a biting scorn in Scott's voice that had only grown more and more apparent as their relationship, and the distance between Scott and Jean, grew. After their very public break-up, he had remained, to the general population of the mansion, very much unchanged, perhaps a little less inclined to leniency in his punishments, perhaps a little less stoic under adversity, but the same man nonetheless.

Kitty had more or less agreed with the rest of the vast family at Xavier's until she had, quite by chance, come across Scott sat in the library late one night. Intending to seek a physics textbook that had long since gone out of print, but which might help with her current assignment, she had snuck down long after curfew intending to do a few hours quiet note-making. Instead, she had nearly jumped out of her skin when a large, calloused hand had descended on her shoulder, the skin there left bare by her strappy Dumbo pyjamas.

"Kitty?" Scott's voice seemed unusually loud in the silence of the library.

"Pr- Professor Summers!" She stammered, feeling her face begin to flush; the secret crush she'd nursed for him had in no way diminished over the year of its duration. To be found by _him_, dressed in her least sexy nightwear and looking, no doubt, about as appealing as a ten day old sandwich, was mortifying.

"Whorra you doin' outta bed, little Kitty cat?" It took her a moment to register the slurring of his usually precise diction; with the realisation came the slightly noxious smell of copious amounts of whiskey.

"Are you… alright, sir?" She enquired cautiously.

He laughed, a sound that choked off abruptly. "No! No, I am not alright." He waved his hands expansively, making her squeak and duck back to avoid them. "The love of my life doesn't love me any more, maybe never did. She's kicked me out when I should have done the kissing! Kicking, I mean. And now the whiskey bottle is empty!"

The look of outrage on his face would have been comical, except for the horror she felt at seeing a man who was usually so controlled, so cool, in such a state. Gingerly she placed a hand on his forearm and tugged to get him moving, trying to ignore the way he swayed alarmingly and the way her heart jumped at the contact.

"Come on, Professor. Let's get you back to bed."

"Bed?" He peered at her blearily through the red-tinted glasses wrapped around his head. "Bed. Really, Kitty, I din't know you felt that way." The semi-leer that flicked across his face made her swallow hard.

"Didn't you?" Was all she could think to say; there was no way she was going to be able to drag him all the way to his room after all, she reasoned. Then she felt disgusted at her own capacity for self-delusion.

They made their staggered progress out of the library, into the elevator, up to the third floor and to his bedroom door before a problem arose. Leaving him slumped against the wall for support, she steeled herself and slipped a slender hand into his pocket to search for his key; although the student dormitories didn't, the private rooms of the staff members all had locks. She had just brushed the distinctive metal shape of a key when, quite by accident, her hand brushed something else as well.

Before she could pull her hand back, stifling a yelp of humiliation, his arms suddenly swept around her, most of his weight sagging across her shoulders. Trying not to make much noise, she attempted to shove him back against the doorframe, but only succeeded in craning her neck back so that she was abruptly face to face with him, their breath mingling in the space between their lips.

Time froze. Ignoring every frantic order from her brain, her eyes dropped to his full lips, only a few centimetres from her own. As if magnetised, she felt her gaze drawn to his tongue as it flicked out and wetted that warm, soft mouth. And then his weight increased as he clutched her shoulders and those same lips mashed against her own.

She was so shocked that she didn't notice that there was more enthusiasm than skill in the kiss, or that he was rocking precariously backwards and forwards as he fought to find his balance. All she could feel was the warmth and longing that had for so long been suppressed flaring to life inside her, his lips so crushed against her own making her heart jump out of rhythm for a brief moment, her brain turning pleasantly syrupy with warm fuzziness.

After a moment, he pulled away, resting her head on her shoulder, the edge of his glasses digging painfully into the tender flesh around her collarbone. "Kitty Kitty Kitty, pretty Kitty, won't you stay with me?"

He looked up at her with such a lost expression, vulnerable in a way she had not seen him before, indeed had never dreamed that he could be, and felt at that moment the reality of his need for her. Slipping a hand into his pocket, she drew out the key, silently unlocked the door, supported him through and closed it behind them.

From that day on, they had quietly become known as a couple, and if certain of the mansion residents had reservations about the speed with which he had moved on, they feared to voice them aloud at the risk of upsetting the fragile peace that had settled over them all.

The arrival of the new mutant and his attentions to Kitty, however innocent, had shattered the veneer of that peace for Scott. He knew, somewhere in the place that had partially healed from the hurt, beneath the swirling miasma of anger and resentment and pain, that he was using Kitty, using her need for him to satisfy his own need to feel in control, to feel strong, but he was nowhere near ready to admit it. The thought of her being taken away before his need was sated sparked a desperate kind of fury in him, and he rounded on her again.

"Didn't you stop to think how it would look, you flirting with him, a man you hardly know, with me standing right there? How could you humiliate me and yourself by behaving like… like…"

"Like what?" Her voice trembled, but the beginnings of anger were starting to flare up in her. Scott saw it, saw the defiance in her proudly tilted chin, and his panic made him cruel.

"Like a common slut. If you don't value our relationship, Kitty, you're more than welcome to leave it. Is that what you want?" He was breathing hard, grasping her upper arms, almost yelling in her face.

"Scott, you're hurting me." She whimpered, the chilling effect of his brutal words dousing the flames of resistance and self-respect within her - the same flames that had already dimmed to a vague flicker under the spiteful comments from Jean, the whispers from the students, the concerned, patronizing glances that the staff thought she didn't see.

He released her as though the touch of her skin was a contamination to him, his face harsh with disgust, at him or at her he didn't know, didn't want to know. "If you're finished arguing with me, I have some work to do in my office. I'll see you at dinner."

Turning, he stalked away, leaving her rubbing her arms, trying not to see the faint bruises he had left there, trying to soothe away the numbing chill that had been building in her for days, ever since she had realised that there was something about his character, the character that had inspired her love and devotion as a girl, now as a young woman, that had been fundamentally damaged by his break up with Jean.

Suppressing her tears was surprisingly easy, and she found herself thinking with a kind of horrified detachment that she was getting used to willing away the moisture from her eyes, banishing her despair and depression with an effort of supreme self-control. Letting out a shaky sigh, she turned and moved towards the stairs, suddenly glad that nobody had come into the entrance hall whilst she had Scott had been arguing.

She collided for the second time with a hard wall of muscle, although this time strong, gentle hands caught her and saved her delicate nose another insult. The hands steadied her, so large they almost spanned her waist, making her feel as fragile as a china doll. She looked up into all-grey eyes alight with tendrils of copper fire, a strongly masculine face made charming by the flash of teeth against the red-brown skin. Kitty suddenly found that she was finding it hard to catch her breath.

"Oh, Aidan! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." As the hands lightly set her down away from the blazing heat of his body, she congratulated herself on the relative normalcy of her tone despite the odd breathlessness that had affected her.

Like warm honey, his voice smoothed away the last of her residual tension, making her unconsciously relax. "No no, I should have looked where I was going, but I was admiring the view."

Despite the head he tilted at the window a few feet behind him, the way his eyes lingered on her face, the last caressing touch of his fingers about her waist, made her blush in hot confusion. "Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Beautiful." He echoed softly, his strange, mesmeric eyes drifting over her flushed features.

"I… uh, I'd better go. It was nice to meet you, Aidan." As she smiled vaguely and turned to leave, he caught his breath suddenly, gently but firmly grasping her hand to detain her. Unlike the earlier grip about the same wrist, this one was light, barely there, but the pressure made her go still. Slowly she looked up, intending to demand what he was about, but she swallowed hard when she saw his expression. His eyebrows were drawn down into a scowl, his jaws so tightly clenched that she watched in fascination as a muscle jumped in his cheek.

"Who hurt you?" His voice, previously so soothing, had dropped to a strained rumble.

"Pardon?"

"Your arms." His free hand brushed a featherlight touch over the red marks spanning her bicep. "Who hurt you, Kitty?"

Embarrassed, she shook free of his grasp. "It was an accident, that's all. I'm perfectly fine. I need to go. Goodbye!"

Watching her hurry away towards the living quarters, her arms still folded in front of her like a shield against the world, Aidan clenched his fists, attempting to calm the raging firestorm inside him that demanded he hold her close until he got an answer; if he did so, he might not let her go. Not that he needed her confirmation, he thought grimly. He knew who the culprit was, knew it as though she hadn't tried to protect her unworthy suitor from the wrath she could obviously feel pouring off him in waves.

Breathing deeply, he moved in measured strides towards the staff common room. If he wanted answers, he might as well start there. And there was no doubt that he wanted answers. And a whole lot more than that besides.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When he entered the staff room, he thought for a moment that it was empty. But it took only a few seconds for the other presence in the room to register. Jean turned away from the coffee machine where she'd been indulging herself in another steaming cup of the blackest, strongest coffee available; seeing the undeniably handsome figure of the newest Elemental framed in the doorway, she smiled graciously and extended a hand, pretending to not notice the way it shook slightly. Just too much caffeine, she assured herself.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Grey. Jean. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was even, with just the right degree of warmth to spice up the cool professionalism. She congratulated herself on it as he enveloped her delicate hand in his own, larger one.

"Vulcanus. It's nice to meet you." His slightly gruff tenor sent a little thrill of feminine awareness spiking through her, even as he drew back.

Aidan regarded the immaculately groomed woman in front of him warily. He was reluctant to judge her, but there was a strange blankness in the back of her eyes as she looked him over unashamedly, a tension around her mouth as she smiled that set his back up. Keeping his face eased into as polite a smile as he could muster, he tilted his head towards the cup of coffee steaming in the air beside her.

"Caffeine injection?"

She laughed, though the measuring look in her eyes remained. "Yes. I know it's not the healthiest thing, but sometimes there's nothing like a good cup of coffee, is there?"

She smiled again, inviting him to share the joke, and preened a little when his lips relaxed a little, the smile warming. It made him seem roguishly handsome in a way that Scott, with his cool elegance and rigid self-control, could never imitate. The comparison made her smile harden, becoming almost vindictive, and she didn't notice when Aidan's eyes narrowed in response.

He couldn't tell what it was about her that was setting him so on edge. Perhaps it was the odd tension he had felt in her relationship with Gaia, perhaps it was the way her facial expressions seemed to stop a few centimetres below her eyes. Whatever it was, it was riling him, and with a caution he rarely employed, he allowed his gift to spread outwards from him; he knew she was a telepath, and obviously had some skill in telekinesis, and for some reason he was reluctant for her to realise his curiosity.

As the little tendrils of fire he envisaged reached out to touch her, he half-expected something to leap out and attempt to douse them. Her gift burned like bluish fire about her brow in his mind's eye, as did Charles', though hers was not even half as bright. But to his surprise, all he felt was a dim, muddy glow in the region of her heart; there was a littleness to her that he had not expected in a doctor, never mind one said to be compassionate with her patients. The little candle flame was nothing to the banked fire that he had sensed in the Professor and was utterly overshadowed by the roaring inferno that Demi showed as.

Drawing back, he looked at her with a face once more impassive. Her smile faded when she saw it, but determined to make an impression, she tossed her gleaming mane of brilliantly red hair back over her shoulder and laid a friendly hand on his forearm, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, her voice confidingly low.

"I love the kids, I do, but some of them are just so trying. Especially some of the older students. They're so convinced they know better than us!" She laughed again, a tinkling sound that grated on his nerves.

"Really?" The short reply matched his shortening temper. He remembered Kitty stood amongst the group of her fellow students, and surmised that she was included in Jean's assessment.

Encouraged by his reply, the doctor caressed his muscled forearm seemingly absently, pressing closer to him, a showy beckoning with one long finger drawing the coffee along with her. "Some of the boys are easily managed, but the girls! And out of all of them, those three are the worst." Her eyes rolled, expressively exasperated.

His brows lowered ominously in what she took for confusion. "Those three?"

"Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty. Well, Jubilee has always been a problem, and Rogue…" She smiled again, a tight smile. "I suppose one must give her a little extra leeway, all things considered. But Kitty! My goodness! Anyone would think the girl goes out of her way to be difficult, when I know perfectly well she's more than capable of handling herself better than she does."

"Oh really? In what way?" His voice had dropped to a dangerous purr, but Jean, convinced of his sympathy, merely sighed and continued.

"She's a very intelligent girl, perhaps not quite as clever as the Professor seems to think, but certainly smart enough to know that some of the pranks the girls pull are inappropriate. Just yesterday Jubilee was encouraging her to utilise her computer hacking skills for some foolish reason. Really! I know Kitty is good with a computer, but she's got to know that hacking can be a dangerous undertaking and one that is definitely better left to older members of the team."

She paused to draw breath, her grip tightening a little on his arm as she turned so that she stood side by side with him. Behind her, Scott stood in the doorway, his own grip tightening on the door frame as he saw her bend her head confidingly close to the new mutant.

His teeth were clenched so hard together that a throbbing ache was grinding its way along his jaw, his eyes behind his glasses itching with the urge to unleash his power. When Jean patted Vulcanus on the shoulder, his jaw gave an audible crack and he turned away, storming down the corridor in the direction of the sub-level elevator. He needed to blast things, even if they were only holograms.

The auburn-haired man blew past Kitty without a word, even when she reached out a hand to stop him. She stood in miserable silence, watching her lover vanish down towards the mysterious basement level. The gentle touch of a hand on her shoulder made her jump, but she relaxed when she saw the familiar brown glove encasing the small fingers. Turning, she wordlessly hugged Rogue, automatically keeping a careful watch for any exposed skin; it had taken a long time, and a huge number of embraces, for the quiet Southern girl to become comfortable with them touching her, but their persistence had eventually won her over, and she cherished the gestures now more than they knew.

"Maybe Mr. Su- Scott just needs to blow off some steam, Kit." The soft drawl was soothing, Rogue's eyes sympathetic.

"I know." Kitty valiantly held back the sniff wanting to emerge. "But it's hard sometimes to see him so upset by her, you know? I thought he was supposed to be over her."

"Maybe it's something else?" But even as she said it, Marie knew it was a false hope. How many times had she desperately hoped that Logan's infatuation with Jean was finally over, only to be disappointed? The doctor seemed to exert some magical, magnetic force on the men in her life.

Kitty gave a watery, bitter chuckle. "We both know that it was her. He never gets that upset over anything else."

Rogue hugged her again, her own throat tightening in shared pain. "I'm sorry, Kit. I wish I knew what to say."

After a moment, the hacker lifted her head from her friend's shoulder, her own shoulders straightening proudly. Her delicate features firmed into an expression that hadn't been seen there before she hooked up with Scott, one that made Rogue's heart clench agonisingly.

"Thanks, Rogue. I'm sure he'll feel better in a little while, and then everything will be okay again."

As Kitty wandered away in the direction of the stairs, her friend looked after her with a sense of foreboding. There was something not quite right in Scott and Kitty's relationship, and she thought with a melancholy sigh that perhaps their age gap, less than hers and Logan's, was too much to blame; it always seemed to her that Scott was striving to keep his partner on an inferior footing in their relationship and to stay firmly in control, whilst Kitty allowed him to do it even as she denied the pressure of his hand on her shoulder.

"Somethin' wrong, kid?"

The familiar gruff tones made her heart leap in bittersweet joy, and she swung around to face Logan with a smile plastered on her lips. "Not really. Just girl stuff."

His face darkened with the familiar scowl, making her smile grow. "Oh. Yeah. Uh, I gotta run, but we still on for the game tonight?"

For a moment her expression was blank, then it lit up with a special kind of joy that made his breath catch in his throat. "Of course we are, Logan! I'll see you 'round."

"Sure thing, Marie." And when he smiled, the tiny candle-flame of hope inside her flared brightly; even as he strode away, she nursed that glowing light and warmed herself with its potential.

Inside the staff room, Aidan's patience was dangerously close to breaking. Jean had continued to chatter about the older students, only occasionally mentioning the three girls by name, but he got the impression that more often than not, she was making oblique references to them, and to Kitty in particular, when she mentioned trouble-makers or difficulties.

He couldn't know that Jean's dislike of the girl didn't stem wholly from her 'irresponsible' behaviour, and Jean refused to admit it even to herself. But there was a terrible jealousy roiling in her heart, because Scott had moved on so quickly and nobody seemed to want her. He had found a younger model to replace her, and that stung in a way that made her spitefully, childishly angry at Kitty.

Aidan had managed to keep his temper so far, but when she suddenly pressed herself against him, her eyes dropping to his lips, her smile an inviting curve, he abruptly pushed away from her. When she blinked, surprised, he gave a tight smile.

"I'm sorry, Jean. But I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

Her own temper beginning to smoulder at his rejection, she froze her smile in place. "Why not? We're two consenting adults, we're attracted to one another."

Her voice trailed off as she saw the tiny, momentary flash of surprise in his eyes. As a sudden, dreadful suspicion occurred to her, her anger – suppressed ever since Scott had taken up with _that girl_ – flared hotly. Without a thought for the morality of what she was doing, she sent a spike of power out to probe his mind, her fury making her clumsy. For a single moment, she could see and feel his thoughts.

_Feeling a wash of heat suffuse her cheeks, resulting in a pretty blush, the young woman spoke in little more than a whisper. "Kitty. My name's Kitty Pryde."_

_He didn't think to question it; it was a fact, as surely as the roundness of the Earth or the burning of the sun. They _belonged_ together._

_Despite the head he tilted at the window a few feet behind him, the way his eyes lingered on her face, the last caressing touch of his fingers about her waist, made her blush in hot confusion. "Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it?"_

_Silky brown hair, pale cream skin, bruised hazel eyes. So beautiful, so fragile. I'll save you, sweet princess. You're mine to save. Kitty Pryde, Kitty Kitty…_

As suddenly as the deluge had begun, it stopped. A roaring, raging heat consumed her thick tendril of power, her mind crying out at the flash of agony before the connection was reduced to ash. Reeling, she staggered backwards, her hands rising to cradle her suddenly throbbing skull.

Feeling a presence nearby, she looked up into his face and gave a choked cry of fright. Where before there had been a man, now a demi-god stood. Fire circled his hands, crackling and licking at the unburned flesh, his hair a crown of living flame, his skin glowing coppery red as though he burned with intense heat. The light he emitted stabbed at her eyes, and she closed them with a moan. When she opened them again, he was once more just a man, but the expression on his face made her quake inwardly.

"If you ever attempt to do that to me again, I will not hesitate to burn your power from your mind." His mouth lifted into a wholly unpleasant smile. "It's just like cauterising a wound, doctor."

He spun on his heel and strode out the door, leaving her to collapse into a chair. She jumped and swore viciously when scalding liquid burned her toes, glaring vindictively at the puddle of coffee slowly spreading over the floor.


End file.
